Bottle-corking machine



Aug. 26, 1930. N. F. SAVIANO 1,773,368

- BOTTLE comma mourns Original Filed Oct 19, 1926 4 sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR H J ATTORNEYS Aug N. F. SAVIANO BOTTLE CORKING' MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Qriginal Filed Oct. 19, 1926 INYENTOR b J ATTORNEYS N. F. SAVIANO BOTTLE CORKING MACHINE Aug. 26, 1930.

Original Filed Oct. 19, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR M5 ATTORNEYS Au .'26,193o. N. F. SAVIANO 1,773,868

- BOTTLE CORKING MACHINE Original Filed Oct. 19, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 4' INVENTOR M: ATTORNEYS 50 tion of the arrows;

Patented Aug. 26, 1930 I UN l D QSTA QS' mcoigar savmno, or BROOKLYN, new yonx; Assrcinonuo oHAnLEs to. 03 m,

I g. 0F NEW YonmmY, L, l

] Original application fi 1ed 0ctoher 19p192 6, serial No. 142,537. Divided and'this'application fileaauij'iz,

192s; "s r ainofaeaason w i h This invention relates to a, bottle-filling'and corkingmachine, and more particularly concernsappara-tus for automatically corkingor closing bottles orother small containers:

In the'packing of large quantities'ofsmall articles,1 such as medical" pills or pellets in small containers, such as bottles, it has been found economical and otherwise desirable to employ automatlcpacking machlneryrv It 1s 10 ranged to perform the packingoperations continuously and rapidly, and that the ma chine be capable of operating with a minimum amount ofmanual attention 15 With the above and other considerations in mind, it is proposed-in accordance with the present inventionto provide a bottle corking' machine, and, more specifically, it isproposed to provide amachine of this type in which the bottle bottle'feeding mechanism being shown in a 'sectiontaken along the line 11 of Fig". 2 Fig. 2 is a plan View, partly'in section, of

the'bottle filling-and corking mechanism Fig. 3 isaside viewv of a development of the bottle corlzing mechanism; 1 I 1 "Fig; 4 is a'sectional view taken along the line .9-4: of Fig; 6 and viewed in the direction of the arrows;- v

Fig.- 5 is a view, similar to F 4' showing portions of the bottle filling and corking drums inslightly different relative positions; "Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along'the line 66 of Fig. 3-andvieWed in thedirec- Fig.,' 8 is; a sectional view of the cox-king mechanism, showing a SQCtlOIl'Of essential that machinery of this type be ar corks or other closure members are automat- 'ically inserted and pressed within the necks 11%. 292,258 filed July12, 192s, andSerial filling and corking mechanism, a portion of the bottle feeding mechanism A, and that 7 bottle corking mechanism of the present in- "tending flange 7 lati'ts upper end,andis pro-.

7- anenlarged plan ,view 'o-ra porv I tionofthebottle corking mechanism, y

bottle theicorkingdrum taken alongtherlinei8i,8 ofaFig'.3r;z z a Fig. 9eis a plan view of a portion-0f the bottle corking' mechanism in the position in which a cork is about tobe droppedinto a 'bottle;w-

Fig. 10 is a sectional .view taken along'the line 1010 of Fig. 9; Y 7 Fig. 11 is a sectional View of the cork depressing'apparatus including a sectional view I of the 'corliingdrum' taken along the line 62 l ',11110fFig.3;aIi'd i Fig 12. is.a view ofamodified form of corking plunger, together with a cam .for actuating the plunger. V Referr'ing'to the drawings, and more particnlarly to 'Figs. 1 'and'Q, the'rmachine disclosed includes a bottle feeding mechanism, generally indicated at FD and A, a bottle filling mechanism,-'including the apparatus "H and BF and abottle "corking mechanism including the apparatus CD1. The bottle teed-. ing' mechanism is described and claimed in my copending divisional applications SeriaI No. 292,259ffiled July l2, 1928, and the bottle filling mechanism isdescribed and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 1 142,537; Thebottle feeding and filling mechanisms form no part of the present invention and will not be'describedin detail herein, it v I being suificientfto explain that 'emptybottle's arecontinu'ously fed to the notches 15 in the T peripheral edge ofthe bottle-filling dru'mBF these bottles are filled with pills, pellets or anye other-material as they pass around the -Referring now more particularly tothe vention-Ja verticallshaft 72 isjournaled in a 9 I fia'nged sleeve 73;suitably secured-to the'platform 1, this shaft being key'ed OIOfillQI'WlSe rigidly secured to a corking drum CD. The

drum CD is provided with an outwardly ex- 1 vided with a plurality of aligned spaced extensions integral with or suitably secured to its cylindrical surface beneath this flange. The vertical dimension of the extensions 75 is arranged to be less than the height of the bottles to be corked. The spaces between the extensions 75 are arranged to form equally spaced substantially U-shaped peripheral notches 76 on the drum, these notches being equal in number to the notches 15 on the periphery of the bottle filling drum BF.. The shaft 72 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2, from the main drive shaft 3 through a train of gears as hereinafter described, the two shafts 3 and 7 2 being arranged to rotate at the same angular velocity. The drums BF and CD carried by the shafts 3 and 72 are arranged in close proximity to one another and are synchronized so that their respective peripheral notches 15 and 76 are in alignment after they pass adjacent to one another. The ext .icling flange 74 of the corking drum CD is provided with a plurality of vertical cylindrical openings 77 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, one of these openings being directly above and inalignment with each of the notches 76. These openings 77 are enlarged at their lower ends to a diameter greater than the outside diameter of the necks of the bottles B as clearly shown in Figs. 10 and 11.

The sleeve 73 carries a stationary circular bottle supporting platform or shelf 78, arranged to present a horizontal shelf portion 79 extending beneath the notches 7 6, and a vertical cylindrical wall portion 80 lying in close proximity to the extensions 75 on the drum CD. The wall portion 80 extends around substantially three-fourths of the periphery of the drum CD.

As the filled bottles are carried by the filling drum BF toward the point at which they are transferred to the corking drum CD (this point being designated at T in Fig. 2) the bottles are lowered to a position in which their upper ends are below the level of the flange 74 on corking drum CD, this being accomplished b i a downwardly inclined or lowered portion 81 on the horizontal portion 22 of a bottle supporting shelf S which surrounds the bottle filling drum BF. The lowered portion 81 of the shelf S overlaps a horizontal lowered portion 79 of the supporting table 78 of the corking mechanism at the transfer point T as clearly shown in Fig. 3. At the transfer point T the horizontal supporting wall of the filling mechanism ends, and a movable finger 82. pivoted at 83 and biased by the spring 84, bears against each lottle andmovably retains it in its proper position during the transfer operation. An opening 85 is provided in the horizontal bottle supporting wall 80 of the corking mechanism at the transfer point T, and two tapered trans fer fingers 86 and 87 are suitably secured to one edge of this wall and extend over the opening 85 as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. The lingers 86 and 87 are provided with pointed ends which extend respectively into a peripheral groove 16, and below the lower of two strips 18 on the filling drum BF. and in close proximity to the cylindrical surface of this drum as clearly shown in Figs. 4. and 6.

As the two drums rotate, each bottle in turn is carried by the tapered fingers 86 and 87 out of a notch 15 on the filling drum BF and into a notch 76 on'the corking drum CD, the bottle being held steadily in an upright position during the transfer operation by the spring pressed finger 82, and moving to a position beneath an opening 77 in the flange 7 4 of the corking drum. This transfer operation has been shown in Figs. 4 and 5, Fig. showing the relative positions of the drums at which the fingers 76 and 78 first engage the bottle B, and Fig. 5 showing the bottle as it enters the slot 7 6 on the corking drum CD.

After the transfer operation, the continued rotation of the corking drum CD brings each bottle in turn up an inclined surface 88 on the horizontal portion 7 9 of the table 78, this surface moving the bottle upward and inserting the neck thereof into the enlarged lower portion of the opening 77 in the flange 74, as shown in Fig. 11. The bottle is now in position for the corking operation.

The upper surface of the corking drum CD is provided with a plurality of sectors 89, one for each of the openin s 77 in the flange 7 1,

these sectors being pivotally secured to the drum CD in a suitable manner at the point 90 to move over the surface thereof. as shown in Fig. 2. Each sector 89 is provided with a roller or cam follower 91 secured to the inner corner thereof, and extending upwardly into a cam groove 9:2 in a stationary cam plate 93. The cam plate 93 is rigidly supported above the drum CD by means of the brackets 91:. 95 and 96 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Each sector 89 also carries a vertically extending slreve 97 carrying a corking plunger 98 which is normally held in its retracted or upper position by a spring 99 as clearly shown in Fig. 11. The upper end of the plunger 98 is provided with a suitable antifrict on bearing I such as the ball bearing 100. The extreme outer corner of each sector 89 is formed into a hook shaped extension 101 having an internal radius substantiallv equal to the radius of the openings 77 in the flange 74 of the corking drum. The under surface of the sector 89 is cut awav beneath the extension 101 and the nlu per 98 as clearly shown in Figs. 7 9 and 11.

The bracket 941 is provided with a vertical cork, feeding mechanism suitable for this purose, is shown anddescribed in-,I"ny-co'-" pen ing application'Serial No. 292,257, filed July 12, 1928. A" pivotally "mounted lever 104 is'fixed to'a -shaft" journaled in the bracket 94, this lever being biased in aclockwisedirection, as viewed in Fig. 7 bya spring 106% shown. The lever 104;carries a 111107 which extends throughaligned openings in the tubular-portion 102 and thefeedt'ube 103, and holds the lowest-cork stationary in the end of the feed tube. A finger ortrigger'108 is fixedtothe lower end of the shaft 105 and it is carried around by the drum,'the normal extends over thevextensions 7 5 on the drum CD in a position to be engaged'by a bottle as position of this trigger being best shown in ea bottle is carried around by the drunr it engages the trigger 108, moving the lever 104 a distance sufficient to permit the pin 107 to release one cork Cirom the feed tube 103, the trigger, lever and pin then being returned by the spring 106 to hold the next co'rkC in the end of the'feed tube. The released cork is dropped on the top of the flange 74 near one of the openings 77. As the drum continues to rotate the cork is held against movement: therewith by an arm 109 of a bell crank lever 110, pivotally supported on, the bracket 94 as shown, and having a notch 111 providedin the outer end of the arm 109 for the reception of the cork C The outer arm 1120f thehell crank lever is provided with a down wardly offset roller 1131 adapted to bear against the outer edge of the flange 74,'a

spring 114 being provided to bias the bell crank lever to. the position'shown in, FigsQT and 9.v The peripheral edge of the flange 74 is provided with a plurality of outwardly extending trips '115, disposed to engage the roller 113 of the bell cranklever 110 and to' quickly snap this lever outwardly as the drum CD is rotated, each trip ll5'being disposed adjacentvone ofthe openings '77 inthe flange 74, insuch a position that the lever-110 is snapped out just as the opening 77 is aligned Y with the notch 1'11in'thearm'109y 1 The cam groove 92 in the stationary cam platev93 runs parallel to the periphery of the drum CD up to a point just beyond the bracket 94 inthe direction of the rotation of the drum, and is spaced a distance fromthe edge ofathe flange 7 4such that each of the sectors 89 is maintained, ina position with its hooked 1 extension 101 aligned with one of the holes '77 in the flange untilsuch sector has passed ,the bracketQL A sf theLdrumCD rotates, and

V bottle-approaches the bracket 94, the tri gger 108 is engaged andpushe'doutwardly bythe wallof the bottle, releasing a cork Cv fromme tube 103 the remaining corks being retained in thetube bythe pin 107 as thetrigger '108 is' released by thebottle and the lever 104; is; returned to its normal position by thespring 106. The'corkC. drops on the flange 74 and is held 7 against movement: therewith vby the p arm 109 of the bell'crank, lever 110, the cork resting inthenotch 111 "at the" end of this f arm. As, the drum continues to rotate, the

hooked extension 101 on thesector 8%) engages the cork, thisextension'togetherwith the arm 109 servingto center, the cork above the opening 7 7 At this point in the rotation of the drum, the trip 115fengages the roller 1130f the bell crank lever 110, snapping this leverv outwardlyand swinging the arm109" away from thecork C, thus permitting the cork. to drop throughthe opening 77 and into "the neck of thebottle B.'I

v The camgroove 92is' so formedas to move each sector 89 outward'iafter the cork C has been" dropped through the corresponding opening77- the sector being thus moveduntil the-corking plunger 98 is directly over-the opening 77 as shown in Fig. 111 Shortly after the sector under consideration is moved toit-his position th'e anti-friction ball bearing 100 on the upper end of the plunger 98-is en-, gaged vby a cam surface 116 which forces the 'plungerqdownward, thus forcing the cork C securelyinto the neck of the bottle B as shownin Fig-'3. The cam-surface 116 is c'urved'to conform' with the pathof travel of the plunger as shown in Fig. 2, and "is suitably secured to a supporting bracket'117 which is slidably carried by the vertical support 1'18. vertical?adjusting screw 119 is journaledin the stationary bracket 96 and has ,serew'threade'd engagementwith the bracket 117,'thus permitting the vertical ad-c ustment of'the camrsurfac'e 116 to vary the depressionof the plunger 98. A setscrew 120 is preferably provided in the bracket 117,

by means of which this bracket may be clampedto the support 118 afteradjustment.

, A lTIOCllfiBCl,fO-Illl- Of corking plunger and cam surface is shown in 12. In this modification, the upper end of the plunger ,981is offset and'is provided with a horizontally disposed roller 121 which is engaged by a camgroove or slot 122 in the member 123.

Themember 123 issecured to. the bracket 117 1 and operates the plunger98positively, that:

is, lifts this plunger out of theo-pening 77 as well as inserting it therein. The modification of Fig. 12 has @Cil'ttllll advantage over l the lowerends ofthe bottles passing down an incline 63 in the horizontal portion 7 9 of the table 78. Each bottle in turn is then picked off of the drum by means of the fingers 124- and 125 which are disposed in close proximity to the surface of the drum CD above and below the extensions respectively. The fingers 12st and 125 guide the bottles into a discharge chute 126 from which they are pushed into a suitable container, not shown.

I The bottle filling drum is carried by shaft 3 which is driven through a worm gear 9, a suitable source of power beingconnected to this gear. A gear 288 is fixed to the shaft 3 below the platform 1 and engages a gear 289 carried by a stub shaft 290. The gear 289 engages a second gear 291 which in turn engages a gear 292 fixed to the shaft 72, whereby this shaft is rotated by the shaft 3. The gears 288, 289. 291 and 292 are of such a size that the shafts 3 and 72 are rotated at the same angular velocity.

The shaft 72 carries a beveled gear 293 fixed thereto and. engaged by a bevel pinion 294, fixed to a shaft 295 carried by a bracket 296, The shaft 295 carries a hand wheel 297 suitably secured thereto so that the entire machine may be slowly moved. by hand through the operation of this wheel. This manual operation of the machine is advantageous when it is desired to change the relative positions of certain of the moving parts of the mechanism for the purpose of cleaning or repairs. lVhen the main source of power is cut off, and the machine operated by hand, the worm gear 9 remains stationary, the pawl and ratchet 12 permitting the shaft 3 and the remaining drive mechanism and moving parts to be moved in their normal direction independently of the source of power.

The present invention has been described in connection with a single specific machine, and it should be clearly understood that the invention is not limited to the exact mechani cal details or expedients shown, and that certain modifications, changes and omissions may be made in the machine without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a bottle filling and corking machine, a revolving col-king drum having notches on the peripheral edge thereof for carrying bottles, a flange on said drum extending over said notches and having openings therein aligned with said notches, means for continuously feeding filled bottles into the notches of said drum, means for inserting the upper ends of said bottles into the openings in said flange, means adjacent said drum actuable by the approach of a bottle to drop a cork on said flange adjacent each of said openings, a movable sector carried by said drum, and a stationary cam adjacent said drum for moving said sector to guide said cork into said opening.

2. In a bottle filling and corking machine, a revolving corking drum having notches on the peripheral edge thereof for carrying bottles, a flange on said drum extending over said notches and having openings therein aligned with said notches, means for continuously feeding filled bottles into the notches of said drum, means for inserting the upper ends of said bottles into the openings in said flange, means for" successively dropping said corks on said .fiange adjacent said openings, a pivotally mounted lever adjacent said drum for guiding each cork into one of said openings, and a plunger carried by said drum adjacent each of said openings for forcing each cork into its corresponding bottle.

8. In a bottle filling and cor-king machine, a revolving corking drum having an extended peripheral flange with openings therein, means on said drum for carrying a plurality of bottles around the periphery thereof with their necks aligned with said openings, means for dropping a cork adjacent each of said openings, a sector pivotally mounted on said drum adjacent each of said openings, a notch in said sector for guiding a cork into said opening, a plunger carried by said sector, stationary means adjacent said drum engag ing said sector for moving said plunger over said opening, and means for operating said plunger to insert the cork into the bottle.

4:. In a bottle filling and corking machine, a revolving bottle corking drum, a plurality of, bottle carrying notches on said drum means for continuously feeding filled bottles to said notches as said drum rotates, eans for dropping a cork into the neck of each bottle, and means for forcing the cork into each bottle comprising a sector pivotally mounted on said drum adjacent each of said notches, a plunger carried by said sector, stationary means for moving said sector over said notch until said plunger is aligned with the cork in a bottle, and means comprising a stationary cam surface supported over said drum for depressing said plunger and forcing said cork into the bottle the drum rotates.

5. In a bottle filling and corking machine, a rotary corking drum having a plurality of bottle carrying notches on the peripheral edge thereof, a flange on said drum overhanging said notches and having an opening therethrough over each of said notches, means for contii'iuously feeding filled bottles to said notches as the drum rotates, a stationary bracket adjacent said drum carrying a cork feed tube, pivotally mounted means carried by said bracket and successively engageable by the bottles carried by said drum for dropping a cork from said feed-tube to said flange at a point adjacent each of said openings, a lever on said bracket for holding said cork from rotation with said drum,

and means on the flange of said drum for a moving said lever to drop said corkthrough one of said openings into one of the bottles.

6. In a bottle filling and corkingymachine,

" a rotary bottle corking drum having means thereon for carrying a bottle at the periph-o on said drum over said bottle having an opening therein aligned' with said bottle, a

stationary bracket adjacent said drum car rying cork feeding means actuable by the approach of said bottle to drop a cork on sa1d flange adjacent said opening therein, means for guiding said cork into, said opening comprising a lever carried by said bracket and a sector pivotally mounted. on" said drum, a plunger carried by said sector, a stationary cam engaging said sector for moving said plunger over said opening, anda second stationary cam eXtendingabove the path of travel of said plunger-andacting to depress said plunger through said openingand therecork into said bottle as thedrum notches andhaving openings therein aligned with said notches, means adjacent said drum byforce said rotates.

7. In a bottlefilling and corking machine,

a rotary-corkingdrum forcarrying a plurality of filled bottles, means for dropping'a cork into each of said bottles and means for forcing said corks into said bottles compr s ing a'pluralit-y-of plungers carried by said drum, means for moving said plungers into alignment with said bottles after the corks have beendropped therein, and a stationary cam adjacent said drum for depressing said plun ers.

for forcing saidl corks into said bottles comprising a plnrahty of plungers carried by said drum, means for moving sa1d plungers into alignmentwith said bottles after the corks havebeen dropped therein, a stationary cam supported above said" drum for depressing said plungers, and means forad iusting'the positionof sa1d crm to vary the" distance sa1d plungers are depressed.

"9. In a bottle corking machine, a rotary corking drum, means for carrying a plurality of bottles on said drum',-open1ngs 1n' the upper surface of saiddrum aligned with;

said bottles, means for droppinga cork into g each of said bottles through said openings and means for forcing said corkssecurely into said bottles comprising a plurality of plungers movably carried by said drum,

means for moving said pl-ungers'into alignment withsaid openings after said corkshave .l

andforcing said ers to force said corksinto saidbottles.

in said flange, means adjacent said drum:

I In a bottle corking machine, a'rotary corking drum, means for carrying a plurality of bottles on said drum, openings in the "upper-surface of said drum, aligned with said bottles, means for dropping a cork into each of said bottlesthrough said openings and means for forcing said-corks securely into said bottles comprising a'plurality of plungers movablycarried by said drum, means for' moving said plungers into'alignment with said openings after said corks have been dropped therethrough, rollers car ried by said plungers, and a stationaryblock f 7 having a cam groove therein supported ad- ,a

. so] plungers into and out of jacent' said drum' for engaging said rollers said openings.

on for carrying bottles, means for continushelf adj acent said drum for-retainingsaid bottles in said notches as said drum rotates,

a flange ,on said drum overhanging said 11. a bottle filling and corking machine, l

a rotary corking drum having notches tliereif ously feeding bottles into said notches assaid jdrum'rotates, a stationary bottle supporting I for-dropping a cork into each of said bottles a through said openings, sectors pivotal-1y sup ported on said drum adjacent each of said openings, means on said sectorsfor guiding Y said corks into said openings, cork depressing plungers carried by said sectors, a stationary cam plate supported above said drum for moving said sectorsto a position in which drumfor successively depressing said plunge;

,7 i i aligned w th said notches, means for con-;-

tinuously feeding filled bottles into the notches of said drum, means'for inserting the upper ends of said bottles into the openings actuable by the approach of a bottle to drop a cork on said flange adjacent eachof said openings, a movable sector carried by said v drum, stationary means adjacent said drum 5 forimoving: said sector to guide said cork into sa1d opening and means carried by said sector for forcing the cork guided by the sec-1, 7 Y

tor into the bottle.

In testimony'whereof I aflix my signature.

been dropped therethrough, andastationary cam adj acentsaid drum for successively mov I NICOLA F. sAv1a o;' 

